COG Archbishop calls Turks ‘barbarians,’ wants them kept out of EU
Archbishop Christodoulos, the leader of the Church of Greece, yesterday described Turks as “barbarians” and declared that they had no place in Europe, which he described as “the family of Christians.” The government, which has often found itself at odds with the populist Christodoulos, hastened to distance itself from him, saying it would continue to back Turkey’s entry into the EU.
The archbishop, who is engaged in an unprecedented battle with the Ecumenical Patriarchate over jurisdiction of some 36 bishoprics in Greece, dropped his bombshell in a sermon on the feast day of a minor Orthodox saint, Serapheim, who was killed by the Ottoman Turks who ruled Greece for four centuries because he would not renounce his faith.
“That is why they impaled him, like Athanassios Diakos,” Christodoulos said, referring to a hero of Greece’s war of independence. “And today they want to join the European Union. That is why we resist. The barbarians cannot enter the family of Christians because we cannot live together,” he said, his voice choking with emotion. “Diplomacy is fine but we must not forget our history.”
Government spokesman Christos Protopapas took a different stand. “Everyone has the right to his opinion. But the foreign policy that we are following, especially with regard to backing Turkey’s closer ties with Europe, is the right one. It serves security in the region and our national interests,” he said.
The architect of Greece’s closer ties with Turkey, Foreign Minister George Papandreou, called on another hero of the Greek liberation to present a different vision of history. “History teaches us and inspires us,” he said in Brussels, where he was attending a NATO meeting. “It inspires us with the vision of Rigas Ferraios. His vision was one of a peaceful, free and democratic Balkan peninsula in which all nationalities and all religions — Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim and Jewish — will have a place. This vision is today becoming reality with the completion of the EU and the inclusion of the Balkans. This vision serves our interests and security. This vision is the one the vast majority of the Greeks support,” Papandreou said.
Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios, who is based in Istanbul, favors Turkey’s EU membership. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said provocative statements by some circles which do not want Turkey in the EU must be ignored.
www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_...5/12/2003_37086
Turkey’s EU hopes
By Stavros Lygeros
Archbishop Christodoulos’s self-restraint in the feud with the Phanar-based Patriarchate was acknowledged even by those who are not keen on the archbishop. However, Christodoulos’s expansive and often immoderate character again came to the fore yesterday. It was not the first time that he said that Turkey has no place in the EU. Until yesterday, he had invoked the cultural chasm between the two sides — a widely held view in Europe. Yesterday’s language, however, exposed himself and tainted the image of the Greek Church abroad.
On December 1999, and partly due to pressure from Washington, the 15 member states awarded Turkey EU candidate status, although they knew it had a long way to go. Behind closed doors, most Europeans believe that Turkey is not just poor but, culturally speaking, a foreign body. Former French President Giscard d’Estaing’s remarks this year are indicative of these sentiments.
For geopolitical and commercial reasons, Brussels wants Turkey hitched to the EU train, but not for full membership. A year ago in Copenhagen, the EU turned down Ankara’s request for a date to begin accession negotiations on the grounds that Turkey was far from meeting the requisite criteria. The EU knows that setting a date will effectively give Ankara a green light for future membership.
The date issue will resurface in December 2004. The EU will then have to give a more binding answer as to whether Turkey is close to membership or not. However, it seems that it will avoid taking a clear stance, exploiting the even more inconsistent stance of the Turkish establishment, which fears that adopting EU standards will eventually undermine its own foundations. Ankara’s desire for an a la carte Europe is impossible. Cyprus is not the only outstanding problem, as Turkey’s democratic deficit still puts the brakes on its European aspirations.
Archbishop says he walks virtue’s road
Sticks to anti-Turkish sermon
Archbishop Christodoulos yesterday refused to back down in the face of the political storm that followed his declaration on Thursday that the Turks are «barbarians» who should not be allowed to join the EU, which he called «the family of Christians.»
In a sermon in the chapel at the Aghios Savvas Hospital yesterday, Christodoulos quoted the Apostle Paul, saying, «We did what we had a duty to do.» Although he did not repeat Thursday's statement, he argued that he was acting on principle. «Those of us who have undertaken duties as leaders of our people have a duty and an obligation, as long as the people look toward us to offer the support of hope and the example of the combative person and the combative Christian, of him who often prefers to sacrifice his tranquility for the sake of truth and justice and generally for the principles he serves,» Christodoulos said. «Every person has to face certain dilemmas... to choose the path of righteousness or the path of destruction.»
But sources said that some Church officials close to the archbishop met yesterday and discussed the reaction to his comments. Some said that Christodoulos's declaration was excessive and a mistake, allowing commentators to interpret it as stemming from his quarrel with Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios over jurisdiction over some Greek bishoprics. The Patriarchate is based in Istanbul. Some sources said that the archbishop might make some more diplomatic statement today to try undo some of the damage his comments did with regard to negative public opinion.
The government repeated that it was in favor of Turkey's closer ties with the European Union and stressed that it was not Christodoulos who determines foreign policy. Dimitris Gerou, a government spokesman, also tried to score a political point. «From what I know, the official opposition has not taken a stand yet. We would like to invite New Democracy to take a stand responsibly and officially. The government has taken a political stand,» he said.
Nikos Voutsis, a spokesman for the Synaspismos Left Coalition, called Christodoulos's comments «totally unbelievable.»
